Iron Maiden
by GatePirate
Summary: AU-SG1-IMmovieverse Xover. Toni starts on the project that will change her life forever. Daniel as Pepper Potts and Vala as Toni Stark. Part 5 is up!
1. Chapter 1

**Homecoming (or "How Pepper Potts learned to stop worrying and love his job")**

**Summary: **Toni Stark comes home at last.

**Dedication: **This is for Cleo the Muse and Milena D. If not for their enthusiasm I probably would not have started this little gem. It is also for xxDark-Elfxx for being as batty as I am in all things (And I mean that as a compliment!).

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Iron Man but it owns me. Also I do not own anything recogniable from the movie or adaptation novel

**A/N:** This is an AU Iron Man and Stargate SG-1 fic. Quite simply; Vala is Antonia 'Toni' Stark and Daniel is Virgil 'Pepper' Potts. This is how I picture them. A meshing of my favorite show and favorite Superhero movie. Kind of like a crossover, but not really. Oh yes I was thinking of this idea for a while but just without Daniel and Vala filling the roles. A male Pepper and a female Stark that is. It didn't occur to me though, until a very short time ago that Vala would make an excellent Toni and Daniel a male version of Pepper, their personalities just seem to mesh with those characters so well. I also hope to stay true to what makes Pepper 'Pepper' and Toni 'Tony' (I hope that wasn't confusing).There may be more fics like this in the future. Some of the things I've written here can neither be found in the movie or the novelization.

It was all Pepper Potts could do to hold himself together. It had been three months since he'd last seen Toni zoom off to one of her personal jets in her silver Audi. Eighty-nine days since he found out that the convoy Toni was being escorted by had been attacked and she went missing. Eighty-nine days of worrying whether or not he'd ever see her again. Despite the reassurances from Rhodey that they were doing everything they could to locate Ms. Stark, Pepper had never felt more helpless than he was right then. He called James Rhodes, Toni's best friend and Air Force colonel, every day just to see if there were any sign of Toni at all or if her kidnappers had made any sort of demands. But there was nothing. No sign of Toni at all in the days that followed.

It wasn't until Rhodey had finally called him a couple of days ago and told him the good news, Toni was alive. She was a bit banged up but in better shape than they hoped to find her in, despite the nasty surprise that had left her with a hole in her chest. Pepper didn't need to hear anything more before he murmured a grateful 'Thank you Rhodey. Thank you for finding her alive for me."' and hung up not realizing his little slip. Now here it was two days later and here he was standing on the tarmac at Edwards Air Force Base waiting for her to land. He tried to stop from fidgeting but his nerves were getting the best of him as he finally hears in the distance the sound of a C-17 heading their way.

After what seems like a lifetime the back of the plane finally opens and there she is sitting in front of Rhodey, in a wheelchair she looks like she doesn't want to be in but is grateful to be home none-the-less. Pepper can't help but break into a grin at the sight of her. He could see her mutter something to Rhodey with a bit of a smirk on her face. Then without help from anyone she began to stand up. Pepper had to force himself to stay put when she rose out of her chair, as she refused to be hindered any longer than she had to be. When she faltered he took an involuntary step forward as if to help her before he saw that Rhodey had caught her good arm before she fell face first onto the tarmac below. Having Happy there beside him reminded him to be as professional as he could be despite the circumstances.

He watched in silence as Toni took the arm Rhodey offered her and guided her down the ramp and towards himself and Happy.

As Rhodey escorted Toni towards the others, he could hardly miss Pepper's smile. At this he couldn't help but to gently tease his old friend. "Looks like someone here missed you Toni." he chuckled softly as he noticed the smile on Pepper became shyer as they closed the distance between the plane and Pepper, Toni swatted Rhodey's arm. Pepper however, must've heard him because he'd flushed pink and ducked his head almost as if to hide it. "Now see what you did Rhodey? You made Mr. Potts blush. If you were my employee I'd give you a raise for that."

Pepper just ignored the teasing jibe and shook James' hand and smiled a little wider. "Thank you." Rhodes just nodded, "Don't mention it Pepper. It's just good to have her back where she belongs." Pepper turned to face Toni, who seemed to be studying him. "What's this? Your eyes are red. A few tears for you long-lost boss?" She lifted a hand almost as if to wipe away an imagined tear but quickly put her hand down when she caught herself. Pepper looked a little surprised at the gesture but quickly hid his expression.

"Tears of joy." he said. "I hate job hunting."

She watched him for a moment before nodding almost accepting his answer at face value. She was about to say something more when Happy spoke up. "Good to see you again ma'am." Maybe Happy had noticed them staring just a little too long at each other and decided to break the silence or maybe he just wanted a little of the attention that she was giving Pepper. Smiling Toni gave Happy what he wanted, "You do something to your hair Hogan?" Grinning back he replied, "Wouldn't dream of it, ma'am." "Good, make sure that you don't." she smirked a little as she headed towards the car mussing Hogan's hair just for the hell of it just as she went by him. "Vacation's over, boys. Let's go."

A few moments later as in the Rolls Royce they were leaving the Air Force base with everyone, minus Rhodey, in tow. Pepper was consulting his blackberry, or trying to actually, he kept peeping up to check on Ms. Stark. He was trying to convince himself that everything was back to normal again despite his employer having a hole in her chest. Not only that but from the hole was a light emitting from it, he couldn't see it before in the bright daylight on the airstrip but here in the dim light of the car it was much more visible. Rhodey had warned him what had happened to Toni while she was held captive but Pepper still hadn't been fully prepared for the shock of blue that was now subtly glowing through Toni's blue dress shirt which she had wore in an effort to camouflage it. He tried not to look at it, he really did, but the glow was all but hypnotizing him as he was lost in thought trying to comprehend just what had happened to her that would've caused her to create the device sitting in her chest. He must've looked like he'd been staring while he was thinking, because the next thing he knew was an amused voice coming from somewhere above the device. "So…..Mr. Potts what can I do for you?"

Pepper's ears turned red but immediately glanced once more at his blackberry. Before he could answer though Hogan piped in. "Where to ma'am?" before Toni could answer. Pepper grateful for the distraction answered the driver himself. "Let's see. First, she's due at the hospital…." But she wasn't having any of it "No." Toni forced the word raspingly from her throat. It made Pepper look up from Toni's schedule bemusedly before giving her a look that plainly said 'What do you mean. No?'. Before he could voice this thought though Toni continued on. "I was just held hostage for three months and right now there are only two things that I want before we even think of doing anything else. One, I want an American cheeseburger, and the other... "

"That's not going to happen." Pepper butted in with a small disapproving frown adorning his features as he glanced her way, sounding more than a little annoyed. Toni only glared at him for a second but that was long enough to give Pepper chills down his spine. "It's not what you think Mr. Potts. I want you to call for a press conference for me now." It was all Pepper could do to keep his jaw from dropping. He could do nothing at stare, half in awe that she'd call a press conference so shortly after returning home and half at the sternness he'd so rarely heard in her voice. When he'd been silent too long for Toni's liking, she spoke again. "Honestly Mr. Potts, what did you think I wanted, some hot blond stud? No, you don't know me nearly as well now as you did then." Pepper had the grace to look chastened; they'd slipped into their old routine so easily he'd nearly forgotten what Toni had gone through. Toni ignored him for now as she told Hogan to drive to the nearest burger joint. They spent the rest of the trip in silence as Pepper kept himself busy making all the arrangements of putting together a last-minute press conference until they reached a Burger King at last.

Their silver Rolls Royce made quite the scene as they pulled into the drive-thru lane to place their order. The cashier at the pay window stood there slack-jawed and wide-eyed as Toni gave her a hundred dollar bill to pay for her two cheeseburgers, fries and soda. She took advantage of the poor cashier girl's shock and then spoke again. "Here take that and pay for every car behind me as well my own food. Then you can keep the change." Toni gave her a blinding grin as happy pulled away and headed to the pick-up window for her burgers. Pepper had to bite his lip in as effort to hide the grin he was fighting.

Yes sir, never a dull moment when Toni Stark was around and Pepper Potts was just moments away from realizing how very true that was.


	2. C'mon Pepper Have a heart!

**Iron Maiden: C'mon Pepper. Have a heart!**

**Summary:** Toni needs a helping hand

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Iron Man but it owns me.

**A/N: **This is an AU Iron Man and Stargate SG-1 fic. Quite simply; Vala is Antonia 'Toni' Stark and Daniel is Virgil 'Pepper' Potts. This is how I picture them. A meshing of my favorite show and favorite Superhero movie. Kind of like a crossover, but not really. Oh yes I was thinking of this idea for a while but just without Daniel and Vala filling the roles. A male Pepper and a female Stark that is. It didn't occur to me though, until a very short time ago that Vala would make an excellent Toni and Daniel a male version of Pepper, their personalities just seem to mesh with those characters so well. There may be more fics like this in the future. Some of the things I've written here can neither be found in the movie or the novelization.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. The Iron Man universe comic,movie or apatation novel. Those come their respective creators. I'm doing this for fun alone. I don't own Daniel, Vala or SG-1 either. For those who are in that fandom as well I've done my best to infuse Daniel into male version of Pepper and Vala into a female version of Tony but it wasn't as easy as it sounds. Pepper looks like Michael Shanks with a bit redder hair and Toni looks like Claudia Black in case anyone needed/wants visual cues. ;)

Once Toni had been home a couple of days as she tried to settle back into her old routine but found her mind restless, already planning her latest 'project'. She'd barely been able to sleep since her arrival back home and was beyond alert, her mind full of ways to perfect the miniature arc reactor resting inside her chest. Right now though she was waiting for Jarvis to finish machining the parts she would need to complete it, something that would've taken Toni hours to do by herself. After Jarvis finished the last of the pieces Toni got to work immediately in piecing them together, practically ignoring anything that would interrupt her. Except for Pepper that is, no woman in their right mind could ever ignore him. Pepper came in to check on her every so often bring her food and drink whenever he thought she needed it. She didn't always eat though, she acknowledged his presence but otherwise worked straight on through his 'visits'. She could all but feel his eyes on her watching her worriedly as she worked without pause. When he finally gave up on Toni to start eating for the day, he left without a sound to do whatever it was that he did all day.

A day-and-a-half later Toni was finally finished with the work on her new arc reactor. It had taken a little while to plan it out and machine the parts but what took the longest was to put the who thing together. With something this small with delicate wiring and parts inside the housing took a slow and steady hand to complete it without any slip ups. Toni was so busy studying the little device in her hand, checking it over making sure she hadn't forgotten a single thing, that she had not even heard television blaring upstairs or the telephone ringing a short while before that. When she was sure everything was completed and made sure the new arc reactor was entirely sealed together she buzzed Pepper.

Meanwhile……

When Pepper was at last caught up (at least for the moment) on his work just before his lunch break. He'd just managed to dodge a call from Agent Coulson from the Strategic Homeland whatever-it-was that wanted to speak to Toni as soon as possible, if not immediately. Pepper wasn't about to let that happen just yet, it hadn't been a week since Toni had finally come home and he was sure as hell not going to let just anybody get to her before she was ready for them. (Although he promised himself he'd try to mention it to her sometime soon). When he clicked the visual screen on the window it blared to life with ferocity as Jim Cramer shouted from off the top of his lungs, "Down baby! Toni Stark is going down!" The loud exclamation made Pepper jump and nearly lost his grip on the laptop that had been balanced in his lap as he sat on the footstool near the living room table. He caught it just in time to hear Cramer exclaim again, "Sell, sell, sell! Abandon ship! Does the Hindenburg ring any bells?" he asked as he slammed his hand down to release another annoying sound, 'AOOOOGAH!' and wincing as Cramer smashed an innocent coffee mug with a baseball bat. "Look, that's a weapons company that doesn't make weapons!"

Pepper looked as if he wanted to reach through the screen and strangle the man for being a sadistic ass. After everything Toni went through in Afghanistan did she really deserve to be put under such scrutiny. Thankfully though Toni was laboring away in her workshop assembling whatever-it-was that had required her to go without much food or sleep for the past few days and was blissfully unaware of the noise coming from the room up above her. Thankfully she was distracted just enough by her project that she hadn't even thought about turning on the CNBC show. Especially since the last time Cramer had a field day with Toni's business decisions she had thrown a very large wrench through the offending person's head, which had entirely destroyed the television broadcasting it. Jarvis had learned a very important lesson that day. 'Never ever turn on Mad Money when Ms. Stark was in a foul mood to begin with.'

Just as Pepper was praying that Jim Cramer would at least stop screeching, the intercom beside him buzzed to life. He sent a silent thank you to the powers that be and muted the show. "Pepper? Could you come down here for a moment? I need to see how big your hands are." Confused Pepper pressed the talk button, "What?" ,he could almost imagine Toni heaving a sigh before answering him. "Your hands. Just…get down here would you? It's important. You'll see when you get down here."

Shaking his head, he released the talk button and quickly made his way to Toni's lair (as Pepper liked to call it, even if only in his own mind) to see what was so important that needed the use of his hands that Toni couldn't do herself. When he got there he saw that she was laying in a slanted desk chair, the robotic arm hovering nearby, she was wearing the lowest cut tank top he'd ever seen her wear (jaggedly-cut low, for a reason) and when he saw her arc reactor and her other…details he quickly looked away for a minute as he hadn't been expecting that particular view when he came downstairs just now.

After taking a moment to focus himself, he turned back around to face her to see just why she needed him as he tried diligently to fight off a blush, but failed. But then his gaze shifted again to her reactor. He really tried to pry his eyes off of the device and where it was positioned, he really did. His curiosity got the best of him and this was as much of Toni as he'd ever seen before and was very unlikely that he would ever see it again. But now he was feeling even more guilty as he stood there. Two seconds later, after his conscience reminded him he was looking a little longer than was appropriate and came back down to earth and altered his gaze slightly to look at the reactor as he flushed noticeably. Toni had noticed this but didn't say a word. No need to get Pepper flustered, she didn't need him to like that before her life-sized board game of 'Operation' commenced.

"So...that's the thing keeping you alive?", he asked as he now studied the device before looking up at her face. She was amused to say the least over Mr. Potts' 'internal conflict' but made no mention of it. "Yes Pepper, that was the thing that's keeping me alive but now it's obsolete, an antique if you will. Thanks to this. This little beauty," she smiled as she reached over to the table beside her and retrieved a similar device "is the upgraded device which will be keeping me alive from now on." After she put the device back down she turned back around to face him. "Now let me see your hands." Pepper had no idea what this was about to, reluctantly he raised his hands as if he was just confronted by a police officer. "Oh come on now Mr. Potts I'm not going to bite you. Let's see them."

With that she took the hand closest to her and began to examine it. Very carefully she ran her fingers against the sides of his hand before delicately running them against his palm before making their way up to his own fingers, lining her own up against his. She was surprised to see that his fingers were only a little larger than her own. She hadn't even realized just how long she'd been looking at their hands before Pepper cleared his throat and brought her back to earth. She hid the small amount of shock well as she began looking momentarily at her own chest as if she were figuring something out. "Well now Mr. Potts, it seems that you have rather dainty fingers for a man." Toni lightly teased as both she and Pepper drew back their hands.

He looked more confused than ever as he tilted his head. "You brought me down here just so you could look at my fingers?" It wasn't lost on him just how much he'd wanted to curl his own fingers around her hand a few moments ago but his face remained passive yet questioning. She quirked a little smile in his direction before glancing at his fingers again. "Yes and they look just long enough to reach inside the socket and…"

Pepper's jaw dropped and looked at Toni as if she just grew another head. "What socket?" He hoped she hadn't meant what he thought she meant. Toni all but rolled her eyes "This socket." she pointed at her chest. "Now look Pepper. There's something I need you to do for me I can't do it myself because of the awkwardness of the position. You're going to swap out this device for the upgraded one that I just finished. I'm going to need you to reach inside and pull out the exposed wire. That was the one design flaw we had and every so often it shorts out and it's not at all pleasant feeling."

There was only one thing to all of that which Pepper could think of to say "Are you sure that's safe?" He looked worriedly at her even as she pulled out the old arc reactor with no hesitation. "Yes Mr. Potts It should be fine." She assured him and leaned back even more in the chair "Just be careful to not to touch the sides with it while pulling it out or it'll buzz just like in 'Operation' and we really don't want that to happen. Just gently lift the wire." "Pepper quickly removed his jacket and pushed back his shirt sleeve. "Right." Just before he had slipped his hand inside the socket he quickly pulled back "You know what? I don't think I'm the most qualified person to do this. I mean, couldn't you have gotten a doctor or mechanic or something to do this?" He asked, his voice held more than a slightly panicky waver even though anyone could tell he was trying to keep it together.

Toni was worried that this might happen and tried to set him at ease. "Pepper I need you here with me now. This is not a time to panic. Now you are the most capable, qualified, trustworthy and dependable person I've known in my entire life and I need you to do this for me. I hate putting you into this position but I don't have anyone else. Please Pepper."

Pepper wondered just then when he'd turned into a worry wart. Oh yeah, when Toni was kidnapped in Afghanistan. "Okay now let's try this again. Just lift out the wire?" Despite her position she grinned. "Yes, very carefully." Focusing her eyes on Pepper's face, she could do nothing more than wait now as Pepper's hand slowly made it's way to the wire. "Ugh, what the hell is that? Pus?!" Pepper groaned and made a face as his hand slipped further inside. "It's not pus, you big baby! It's inorganic plasmic discharge from the device and not my body."

Pepper looked a bit put off. "Whatever it is, it is, it stinks." He wrinkled his nose in hopes that it wouldn't set off his allergies. "Yes it does. Now it's the copper wire you want and be careful not to…ahhh!" Even as she was in the middle of the warning Pepper had accidentally touched the sides as he was pulling out the wire and had given Toni a very bad shock. "touch the sides when it's coming out!"

Pepper winced and judging by the look on Toni's face that this was more than just an 'unpleasant feeling' "Oh God, Toni are you alright?" he asked, hoping that all it was just a reaction to the shock although he knew better. He'd almost been expecting a short, snappish 'Do I LOOK alright?!', from her, but when she didn't he knew that it was something to worry about. Instead what she said was "Oh, never better just going into cardiac arrest. Nothing to get worried about as long as we have the new device installed soon. Just be careful not to…"

Pepper's eyes bulged at this as he finally got the end of wire out of the socket . "Cardiac arrest?! I thought you said this was safe!" He was so distracted by that fact that he had also pulled out the donut-shaped magnet on the other end as well. "…pull the magnet out. That…you just pulled out like a trout. And it is safe Pepper, for you at least. I know perfectly well what I'm doing. Just leave it out." She sighed as she saw what he had done. She wished in that moment that Pepper was more mechanically inclined or had at least waited until she had finished her sentence before he had done what she hadn't wanted him to do.

"You know what? No crying over spilt milk now. Now we have to hurry and get the new device switched over. Now attach it to the base plate." Pepper nodded still a bit frantic from hearing the words 'cardiac arrest' and took the end of the wire from the new arc reactor and attached to the inside where the base plate resided and slid the device in, making sure it was locked into position before he stepped away. Now that the task was done Pepper looked at his hand, looking every bit like he wanted to fling the inorganic-whatever-it-was away but for the moment ignored it.

"Are you okay?" He looked over to Toni who was now sitting up, looking a lot healthier than she had just a minute ago. She nodded, "Yeah, I feel great. Thank you." ,she then looked down to Pepper's goo-dripping hand and then back up again, "You know, you're free to wash that hand anytime you'd like Mr. Potts." she said as she began pulling off the medical sensors and then reached for an overshirt that had been waiting for her on the same table that her original arc reactor was now residing. That was when Pepper was reminded of his boss' state of undress and quickly turned around to wash his hands and to conveniently hide the blush he felt creeping up his neck. Toni studied him for a moment before she put on her shirt and buttoned it as he washed his hands. "So…will…this be a regular job requirement or just a one-time thing?" Pepper asked as he turned around as he grabbed a clean towel nearby and turned around. She shrugged "It shouldn't be and unless something happens…then it's a one time deal. You shouldn't have to do it ever again." Pepper perked up a little at that. "Good, 'cause there's no way I'm doing that again. That most definitely wasn't in my job description."

"C'mon Pepper. Have a heart! What's a little inorganic plasmic discharge between friends?" she pleaded playfully with him for a minute. Pepper, however, was not falling for the false puppy-dog routine he'd seen in her so many times in the past and just said, "Just… find somebody else to do it next time, should it happen. Because I don't think I could do that again. What if I do something else wrong and you die because of it?" Pepper watched her now as her face turned serious and her voice so soft the almost couldn't hear her speak. "Pepper, I meant what I said before, I haven't got anyone else." Pepper could see how serious she was, her mask had briefly dropped and Pepper could see just how lonely she was once it had. Pepper sighed and watched Toni for a few seconds before daring to say anything and then sat in a chair not far from hers. "You know Toni…you can always come to me if you need to talk about anything. You know that right?" He asked her worriedly. He'd never seen her like this before. They had Afghanistan to thank for that. Toni watched him as they sat in silence for a moment afterwards, contemplating whether or not to tell Pepper just what happened while she was missing. She had wanted to but her heart just wasn't in it. She nodded her understanding but, despite that, her words belied her action. "I'm sorry Pepper. That's one thing I can't talk about yet, if ever. At least not yet."

To keep things from getting to uncomfortable Pepper changed topics for Toni's sake and picked up the old reactor with the towel still in his hands. "What do you want me to do with this?" Toni rose from her chair, "That? Destroy it. Incinerate it. I don't care I just want it gone." Pepper frowned. "Are you sure you really want to do that?" Confused, Toni looked up at him. "Well, why not? It's outlived it's usefulness. Little more than an antique now. I've been called a lot of things Pepper, and not all of them nice, but nostalgic was never one of them." Mr. Potts nearly rolled his eyes at the tone she took with him now, and then responded in kind. "Well silly me for thinking you'd be "nostalgic" enough to want to keep the thing that kept you alive for so long."

Toni fought the urge to raise her voice and instead kept her voice soft but firm. "Why would I want a reminder of the place that caused my need for it in the first place?" Pepper had the sense , yet again, to back away from the subject and agreed to do it. "Alright. I'll make sure that it's taken care of." He took a step backwards towards the door, arc reactor in hand. "Will that be all Ms. Stark?" Toni smiled, wishing she hadn't sounded so distant earlier but he understood. Pepper always understood and Toni didn't know what she do without him. "That will be all Mr. Potts." As he turned away and exited the workshop. After the door closed behind him Toni murmured softly, "When I'm ready to talk Pepper, you'll know. I promise."

*~*~*

Even as Pepper scaled the stairs to leave, he stopped mid-way to look behind him. He had the oddest feeling that someone had been talking to him since he closed the door. He looked back into the workshop briefly, Toni was already working on another project and it couldn't have possibly been her. Sighing he made his way upstairs wishing for something he knows may never happen.


	3. These Boots Ain't Made For Walkin'

**These Boots Ain't Made For Walkin'**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. The Iron Man universe including comics, movies or adaptation novel by Peter David. Those come their respective creators. I'm doing this for fun alone.

**A/N: **This is an AU Iron Man and Stargate SG-1 crossover fic. Quite simply; Vala is Antonia 'Toni' Stark and Daniel is Virgil 'Pepper' Potts. This is how I picture them.

Not long after Toni replaced her original arc reactor with the newer one, she began work on something so secretive that not even Pepper or Obadiah knew what she was up to. It wasn't that she didn't trust Pepper, she did, with her life in fact as the other day had proved but it was for his own safety that she kept this from him. "Jarvis. Wake up. I need you to open a new project file. Name it in the index as 'Mark 2'." Jarvis replied in the tone that always made her think of an English butler. Which, of course, wasn't accidental. "For you Ma'am, always. Shall I store this in the Stark Industries database?"

She knew that the only 'people' she could trust with this were Jarvis and herself. "No, I want everything kept on my private server only. Let's keep this just between us, eh?" Even as she said the she 'dragged and dropped' the design from her original suit from the computer monitor to her interactive holographic display table before standing up to study it. Taking pieces off with her hands, she tossed all the unnecessary or replaceable parts away and threw them into the virtual trash can. "Working on something top secret are we, Ms. Stark?" Jarvis asked her, as if he was curious or was just being thorough. "You could say that. For precautions sake mostly. I don't want this falling into the wrong hands." She turned 'Mark 1' around and tossed another piece away. "Maybe in mine it can do something for good."

She stared at it for a while trying to decide just where to start first before it came to her. "Alright Jarvis. First things first, let's start on at the boots and propulsion system and then work our way up."

**About a week or so later…**

Toni sat at one of her work tables carefully soldering one of the boots she'd been working on non-stop without much sleep and about as much food. Dummy, as she called it, was holding the magnifying glass steady so she could see where such delicate work was needed on the small wires but Dummy wasn't being all that cooperative or as fast as she needed it to be. Toni briefly considered getting some sort of magnifying eyeglasses to do this but this was easier and worth the mild aggravation of Dummy's occasional slip ups. When she wanted it to go up, it went up but painfully slow and by the time it got there she was already done with that section and had moved to another cloister of wires and by that time Dummy was only in her way.

"You're absolutely no help at all, you know that? One of these days I'm going to have to figure out a way to make you quicker with smoother moving components. Wouldn't that be nice, Dummy?" She talked to the robot as if it could answer her with anything but gestures. She thought to herself many times if Dummy knew how to flip her off he would've done it a long time ago and often. She smiled at the thought as the back of the boot glided open and at last the second of the boots were finished.

"Time for a test flight. Jarvis make sure Dummy gets ready in case of mishaps I'll be just a moment."

A few minutes later after she had her long hair braided down her back and had attached the boots/propulsion system onto her feet and walked to the testing grid she had laid on the floor even before she put the first boot together. She'd hooked up the hand controls to the propulsion system that could also be used as a dead mans switch should she let go of it at any time. She walked in them a bit more to get used to their weight and mobility but the way she did so would have made an outsider think that she was simply trying out a new pair of designer shoes made specially for her. A short while later she was ready. She looked to her right and told the robotic camera to start recording and made sure Dummy was on fire safety. If God forbid, she was hooked something up wrong and started to accidentally flambé herself. She was pretty sure she'd gotten the calculations correct as well as the wiring, but it never hurt to have a back-up plan. "All sensors are ready, Ms. Stark." Jarvis reported in just as she was working the wobbles out of her knees before she activated the boots. Toni nodded absently just as she was preparing for her possible flight. "Alright we'll start off easy. We'll start out at 10% thrust capacity to see if it achieves lift." She stood stock still, with her knees bent, and pushed the button.

In the next eyeblink after Toni pushed the button and flew backwards and hit the wall high behind her with a startled yelp. She didn't know what hit her but what she DID know is that her head hurt badly, and on top of that she was seeing stars, that is until she wasn't. Now she was seeing a blast from a fire extinguisher. So not good. "Damnit Dummy! Did it look like I was on fire?! Ow ow, damnit, OW!" She moaned from her aching head while Jarvis seemed to delightfully snark (or it seemed that way to her, at least) "That flight yielded excellent flight data, Toni." Toni grumbled "Thank you Jarvis.", as she wandered her way back to her seat to remove the boots. Even as she did so she was already trying to figure out what went wrong but it was in vain.

"Damnit, I can't do this now. Not with my head pounding like a drum." She sighed as she gently rubbed the back of her head. She stopped for a moment just as a stray idea entered her thoughts. "Okay boys, that's it for the night. We'll start again as soon as I return tomorrow. Until then, aspirin is my new best friend." she said just before she turned around to exit the her shop. Next stop aspirin, maybe some leftover pizza, and then to sleep off the ill-fated trial run.

*~*~*~*~*

The next day Toni strode through one of the hangars at Edwards air force base in search of the one person she know could help her perfect her project. It doesn't take her too long to find him. Near one of the fighter planes she sees him in front of a small group of a dozen or so people giving an impromptu 'lecture'. All of them seemed oblivious to her approach all of them listening intently to the man in front of them. She stops and listens to him as well for a little while. She'd only been listening for a short time when she heard her friend's unknown cue to her.

She strode up to the group, removing her sunglasses as she did so. "Then why not take it one more step forward? How about a pilot without a plane?", she slipped into her known 'persona' of cockiness, grace and genuine know-how and all but slinked over to Rhodey's side to size up the reactions of everyone there. Rhodey's, however, was one only of happiness of seeing his old friend among them. "Colonel Carter, Gentlemen. Look who fell out the sky, Ms. Toni Stark." She smiled at them all and shook hands with all that offered them while memorizing their names by their tags on the BDU's. With a certain gleefulness she looked at them and then up to the plane sitting behind the crowd. "So who here wants to take these apart and the put them back together again?"

Not surprisingly, at least not to Col. Carter, more than half of their hands went up including one with a half-eaten banana. The blond officer, Toni could tell, was fighting not to roll her eyes and looked a little more than annoyed at Toni for asking such a thing. That was when Toni decided to turn on the ol' Stark charm. "Col. _Samantha _Carter, is it?" she asked with a bit of feigned curiosity. Of course she knew exactly who the woman was but wasn't about to let Carter know that. "I've heard some very interesting things about you my dear, all thanks to Rhodey of course. Don't worry all of it good, I assure you. In fact, while I'm here, I've been meaning to make you a very generous job offer at Stark Industries. We believe," she nodded over to Rhodes, "that you'd be an excellent addition to just about any field you'd apply to. I'm sure Doctor's McKay and Zelenka would be thrilled to have you in our Astrophysics division." Toni gave her an encouraging and sincere smile.

Col. Carter, who was not expecting such an offer was wide-eyed and completely speechless for a moment before she found the words to speak. "Er…wow. Thank you, Ma'am. That's..quite an incredibly generous offer but… I'm really very happy where I am at this point in time or otherwise I'd take you up on it." She explained sounding something in between like awe and regret.

Toni just shook her head. "Our loss then but in case you change your mind you're always welcome to take the offer whenever you like." Carter grinned, "I'll keep that in mind, Ma'am." Rhodey just smiled at seeing his friend smooth out possible rough places before they'd ever became known. "Alright, Col. Carter could you take the guys and give us a few minutes here? I'll catch up with you soon." The blond woman nodded and walked away with most of the crowd followed while chattering behind her. They'd left the two friends behind to talk although a few lingered behind to shake Toni's, one of which still held his still half-eaten banana.

Out of curiosity she glanced at the name on his suit which read 'J. Quinn' she then turned to glance at the others who lingered behind another man with hazel eyes and unruly dark hair gave Toni a small smirking smile one whom she recognized as one of Rhodey's much talked about hotshot pilot-wannabe but couldn't remember his name glancing at his name tag that read 'Sheppard' jogged her memory but didn't acknowledge that she know of his reputation. Then lastly her eyes fell on the youngest of the three men but he looked just barely old enough to be there but his brown eyes looked like they were wise beyond their years.

She was about to say something when she noticed Rhodes staring at the three men before them. They were brave enough to stay behind despite the fact that Rhodes wanted to talk to Toni alone. "Can I help you gentlemen?" Toni broke the silence before her friend could. The one in the middle, Sheppard, came forward and held out his hand which she took to shake it. "Just wanted a little one-on-one facetime with the woman who single-handedly escaped from her prison in the caves of Afghanistan and left a smoldering mountain in her wake." those words made Toni went rigid and dropped his hand like it was a hot rock. "I didn't do it alone, Mr. Sheppard." she answered him icily and so low that no one outside of the four men near her could hear. Sheppard mumbled an apology once he'd seen her reaction and took a step back. Rhodes didn't reprimand him but looked at Toni who went a little pale from the mans bold statement.

"And you two?" Rhodey looked a little more pointedly at the others than he normally would have. Quinn who'd just stuffed the banana peel into his pocket rose both hands defensively. "Nothing like that. I assure you, ma'am.", he cautiously held his hand out, "I just wanted to say what an honor it was to meet you, Ms. Stark. Welcome back." Toni smiled a little before shaking his hand but otherwise staying silent. Quinn then left with Sheppard right behind him who was still feeling like an idiot about bringing up Afghanistan with her, all the while Quinn could be heard chastising his friend as they rushed to catch up with the others.

When the baby-faced man was the only member of the trio left behind Toni simply raised her eyebrows, silently questioning him why he was still there. She could see what his name was now that it wasn't obscured by the men who'd stood there with him now she could plainly see that his name was 'Simpson'. The young man didn't look at all intimidated by either Rhodes or Toni as he eyed them just as closely as he was being. "I'm sorry about my friend there Ms. Stark. He obviously just had a temporary condition of diarrhea of the mouth there." In spite of herself her mouth gave him a bit of a smirking grin.

"Don't worry, Simpson. It happens to the best of us from time to time. Though your friend's foul sense of what to say or not to say might get him into trouble one of these days." Simpson just smiled "See? That's what I keep telling him but I don't think he listens to me as much as he does Jonas.", he slid his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "But trust me he's not as bad as he used to be. For what it's worth he didn't mean any harm, Ms. Stark." Toni broke out into a genuine smile and held her hand out for him to shake as a goodwill gesture. "I know. It just gets to me every so often…I try not to think about it though, and please call me Toni." He took her hand and accepted the gesture for what it was. "Only if you call me Jon." She was about to say something more when a female voice echoed from across the hangar.

"Simpson! If you're finished flirting with Ms. Stark I suggest you catch up!" Jon just smirked and hollered back, "What? I'm not finished yet!" Carter glared at him but didn't say another word. Jon turned around to face Toni. "You know what? I think she likes me!" Toni just grinned before Simpson turned away and jogged to catch up with the others.

With a half-laugh she faced Rhodey. "Well, _that_ was interesting. I certainly didn't expect anything like that when I came over today." Smiling as she looked at him. He was smiling too but she wasn't entirely sure if it was for the same reason. "How are you Toni? I'm surprised to see you walking around so soon." She smiled. "Fine, thank you, just needed some fresh air. Although I'm doing a little better than walking nowadays."

Rhodey's eyebrows went up. "Really?" Toni crossed her arms and looked at him directly letting nothing distract her. "Yeah, I couldn't be better considering my little souvenir. Listen Rhodey." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm working on something really huge and I want you to be a part of it." There was something in Rhodes' smile now that felt vaguely wrong but didn't know why until he spoke up.

"You know you're about to make a lot of people here very happy Toni, don't you? 'Cause after that little stunt of yours at the press conference. That was one hell of a doozy. You sent everyone spiraling out of control with that one."

Ah hell this was not the reaction she'd hoped for.

"I meant what I said then, James, and I still do." she answered him almost as pointedly as she'd replied to Sheppard but Rhodey didn't pay it any attention. "This thing I'm working on, it's not military, it's different. Please hear me out I need you to…"

Rhodey put a stop to it before she even got her proposal off the ground. "No Toni, what you need a little more time to get your head right. This whole thing has knocked you for a loop and you're not thinking clearly right now. I'm serious." Toni gave him a strained smile, one that didn't reach her eyes. "Okay Rhodey, if that's the way you feel about it.", she took a step back from him, her disappointment obvious to him. Realizing for quite possibly be for the first time that he was military first, her best friend second when it came down to the wire.

She turned around and left him there. She should've known he wouldn't have understood her reasons for doing what she did, for what she was doing. The only one who did, died during their…her escape attempt.

**Post-chapter A/N: **I have no idea if 'Stark Industries' would really have an astrophysics division but I'm thinking/pretending that they do and do work with NASA when they (NASA that is) needs help. And as you can tell here is where the Iron Man and SG-1 worlds meet, becoming the true crossover I had planned ages ago.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **This is an AU Iron Man and Stargate SG-1 crossover fic. Quite simply; Vala is Antonia 'Toni' Stark and Daniel is Virgil 'Pepper' Potts. This is how I picture them. A meshing of my favorite show and favorite Superhero movie. Some of the things I've written here can neither be found in the movie or the novelization.

**Another A/N: **Sorry it took me so long to get back to this fic but I hope it was worth the wait. I hope to have another part up before too much longer. I know this particular part seems cobbled together. I'm a bit rusty after not having written anything for this story for so long so you'll have to forgive me for that.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. The Iron Man universe including comics, movies or adaptation novel by Peter David. Those come their respective creators. I'm doing this for fun alone.

Toni tossed and turned when she finally did get to sleep that night. Nightmares of Yinsen dying haunted her dreams. As she slept she relived the worst parts of her three month captivity. Especially what little she could remember of the surgery that had saved her life. What she couldn't remember of it was filled in with exaggeratingly gruesome details. Then one scene melted into another; waking up in the cell with a car battery attached to her chest with nothing but wires, being video-taped as a hostage, her head dunked under water repeatedly until she agreed to build a Jericho missile, and then watching her only friend in that hellhole dying in front of her from gunshot wounds. Yinsen.

Toni whimpered in her sleep as the scenes played in her head yet again but still didn't waken. The dream wasn't entirely hellish, it had precious few fond memories of Yinsen. Especially many in which they played backgammon withs nuts and washers. Well not really 'played'. More like whispering about the plans for the suit as they played..._badly_. When the next scene in her nightmare swam into view she unconsciously moaned as it seemed to play out in real time. Yinsen quickly encased her in the heavily cobbled-together armor as they were preparing for their escape attempt. She recited the directions and how many steps it would take to get them out of the cave when they heard yelling in the distance and running feet. Yinsen yelling in bad Hungarian in order to buy them a little more time. When the guards tried to open their cell door it exploded as Yinsen raced to finish prepping Toni. The explosion had to have gotten their captors attention because they were running like hell to see what had just happened.

"Yinsen, initialize the power sequence."

He tapped in the instructions Toni gave him to the letter into the laptop and initiated with little time to spare.

"Button me up, every other hex bolt. We have a lot of work to do and very little time to do it in!"

Yinsen's fingers speedily did their job and when he was finished Toni all practically barked at him. "Now get your ass under cover and remember your checkpoints once I leave and make sure..." Toni had been giving him the instructions to keep Yinsen safe that she hadn't even heard what he said and before she knew it he was picking up a machine gun off of one of the dead guards and firing madly in the distance. Moments after that their cave went dark and the only light in the room came from the laptop.

Toni had too little time to fear for her friend because before she knew it the next wave of guards came through the doorway and Toni took the one who'd been brave enough to come into the room alone and knocked him into the wall behind him gun firing repeatedly out of reflex. The others fired their weapons blindly into the room after seeing what had happened to their 'buddy". They didn't even see the metal clad figure until it was too late...

Everything after that point was a blur, as if she had been a vhs tape stuck on fast-forward all the while she punched through doors and fired on anything and everything that tried to stop her from exiting the cave. When time, in the dream, resumed it's normalcy she found herself practically face to face with Yinsen. As she made to got to him to help him the dying man croaked a warning to his friend. "Toni! No, watch out!"

Before she could fully turn her head towards the direction that Yinsen had been looking in and barely missed being hit by an RPG which, surprise surprise, was being fired right at her by their captor Raza. After she had recovered from the near miss she returned fire right at the man with a projectile of her own covering Raza for who knows how long with rubble from the cave.

Once seeing that the most immediate danger was taken care of for the time being Toni raised up the face shield to talk face to face with Yinsen.

Only it wasn't Yinsen who now looked up at her lifelessly with those cold, dead **blue **eyes.

_No! It couldn't be him. He hadn't even been there!_

This was when Toni woke up screaming Pepper's name with her heart racing. Trying to catch her breath from her nightmare she looked around her room reassuring herself that she was home and not the cave. The dead blue eyes from her dream may already be fading. But not the terror she felt from the sight of Pepper lying there, dead, did not. As she sat there calming herself a vision of what the new suit should look like came to her. As it designed itself in her head she promised herself that she never become that irresponsible again. The suit, it's design and all things related to it would never be leaked out. She swear by it on Yinsen's grave, had she known where that was, she would.

"Jarvis. What time is it?" She asked the A.I. as she sat up in bed determined and eager to start on the suit.

"It is approximately 3:17 A.M,Toni."

She grimaced at how early it was. "Damn the early hour." she grumbled under her breath but stood never-the-less and started pulling on clothes suitable for the workshop. Even if Rhodey wouldn't help her then God help him or anyone else who stood in her way.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. The Iron Man universe including comics, movies or adaptation novel by Peter David. Those come their respective creators. I'm doing this for fun alone.

**A/N:** This is an AU Iron Man and Stargate SG-1 crossover fic. Quite simply; Vala is Antonia 'Toni' Stark and Daniel is Virgil 'Pepper' Potts. This is how I picture them.

A week later Toni finished the bare bones one of her prototype flight stabilizers she'd needed in order to avoid any more flight fiascos like she had just over a week ago now with the flight propulsion system. Unaware that Pepper had just entered her workshop she aimed the gauntlet haphazardly at a nearby toolbox and fired. Toni grinned when she saw that not only had the toolbox had been blown completely off the table but the worktable itself had also blown over.

She looked around for something else to test it on when she saw Pepper standing up from a slightly crouched position, holding his ear and glasses slightly askew from the wake of the blast. He frowned at Toni, "You could've given me some warning, you know." He paused to look at the device on her arm, wondering exactly what it was. "I thought you were done making weapons." He eyed her once he straightened his glasses.

Toni teased him "Now what fun would that be Mr. Potts? I rarely ever get to see you duck and cover." She winked at him playfully before her attention was drawn into taking off the makeshift gauntlet for the time being. "Besides I had no idea you were even there until it was too late. Also, for your information Mr. Potts this isn't a weapon, it's a flight stabilizer." Pepper just eyed the gauntlet undecidedly. "If you say so Ms. Stark." It was then that Toni had noticed the box Pepper held in one arm. Pepper was reminded of the package by Toni's glance, he silently put it down onto one of the other workshop tables without a word.

Curious, Toni smile at him and pointed lazily at the gift. "What's this? It isn't my birthday." Pepper said nothing about it but shrugged half-heartedly. "Obadiah's here to see you, Toni. Shall I tell him you'll be right up?" He told her as he slid his hands into his pockets as he watched her as he waited for a answer. Toni looked as if she wanted to open the box right then but decided to save Pepper some embarrassment and decided to save it for later.

Instead she returned her attention to him. "Did he say why he's here?" Pepper shook his head, "No but he did say it was important. So I think that working on your 'flight stabilizer' is going have to wait a little longer." She nodded "Alright then, lead the way Mr. Potts." She smiled at him before he turned away and made his way upstairs. Toni took one last look at the box on the table, pondering on whether or not she should open it before following Pepper. After only a moment of thought she decided that it would be better to wait until Obadiah left and quickly left the workshop.

When Toni reached the top of the stairs she could hear the tinkling of the nearby piano. She looked over to the piano and saw Obadiah at the keys looking deep in thought, clearly absorbed by the notes he was playing. She watched him for a moment, the man was like a second father to her but despite being in his early sixties he still looked like a man in his forties (that is if he hadn't been bald of course) despite the deep lines near his eyes. Pepper took a seat nearby and helped himself to a piece of the pizza that Obadiah had brought with him and settled into watch the interaction between a mentor and his student.

Once Stane has seen that Toni had arrived upstairs, he stopped playing the piano. "I really wish you had done like I asked and came to the board meeting, Toni." There was something in the older man's tone that made her think otherwise but she shrugged it off, dismissing the thought as her being paranoid with everything that had been happening lately. "I missed something?"

She watched her father's old friend carefully looking for some sort or hint or clue as to what he was talking about. He said nothing and gave her a small nod. She hadn't realized just how much time had passed since Stane's request and now. Had time really passed by that quickly since the beginning of her project?

Before she could get lost further in thought she purposely chirped out. "Really? Any good gossip?" She asked as casually as only she could, as to not show her worry.

Stane couldn't believe her! He stood up and looked at Toni with no small amount of disbelief. She winced and looked a bit sheepish when she saw the look on Obadiah's face. "That bad, eh?" She must've let the worry show through because his expression then softened and gestured to the pizza on the table. Sighing she sat down near Pepper and helped herself to a slice. She was about to take a bite when Obadiah lowered the boom on her.

"The board's filed an injunction against you." She stared him awkwardly gawk-eyed for a moment before she could find the nerve to speak. "What?" Pepper looked to Toni, then Stane and back again before he saw Stane shrug as if it was nothing to be worried about.

"They claim you're unfit to run Stark Industries and want to lock you out." Within a blink of an eye Toni flung her slice of pizza back into the box before standing. "How the hell do they plan on doing that? It's my damn name the building! Without me the board wouldn't have a leg to stand on. What with my ideas driving the company and all!" She said as barely able to restrain herself from yelling at Stane himself.

"They're going to try," Stane said keeping his voice low and calm. "We're going to fight them and in the end they'll see just how ludicrous they were being about you. They're barely even taking to account that you're still recovering from your…experience. But you've got to admit you didn't help your case any when you announced you were shutting down the weapons division."

Toni stood there arms across her chest looking every bit like a unrepentant child after being told she couldn't do something and as silent as stone. She continued to stare at Obadiah as he continued on, "Listen Toni, most of the world doesn't share your point-of-view. They're more frightened nowadays with new ideas. Especially ones as radical as yours. They have so much to lose if the whole thing ends up backfiring in our faces."

He reached for the scotch Toni kept nearby and poured out two tumblers full and skid one to Toni as a sort of peace offering. She stared at it for a moment, almost wishing for a life as simple as she had before she had gone on her infamous trip to the middle east. One where she would throw the offered drink back without a backward glance or thought. But now she declined the drink pushing it back toward Stane in refusal.

That certainly had gotten Obadiah Stane's attention. Toni Stark never refused a drink that he had ever offered her, until now that is. He studied her for a moment before he spoke again, "Listen Toni. This is no need to get upset. Do you know how many times I pulled your father's ass out of the fire?" She nodded, a bit of relief slightly softened her face but she still couldn't help but fell a bit worried despite his claims to help. How did things get this messed up this quickly? Surely she hadn't been out of the loop that long…outside of those three months that is.

Stane seeing the conflict in her eyes put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You let me worry about everything, kid. I'll take care of the wolves and you take care of you and whatever project you have cooking down there. But promise me something? No more press conferences."

Toni smiled a little and nodded in agreement. "Right Fine. No more press conferences. I'm up to my ears in trouble as it is. Speaking of which, are you sure you can handle the board by yourself. I mean I can go with you if you need me to talk to them."

Instead Obadiah just stood there and shook his head "No can do, Toni. I think it's best right now if you just let me be your public face when it comes to them. Right now you're too vulnerable and it would be like throwing a rabbit into a den of hungry wolves, and the last thing you need is to be ripped to pieces while you're still trying to put yourself back together again and that would only make things worse. Toni I'm trying to turn things around here but you got to give me _something._ But if you give me something to pitch them."

Stane's gaze lingered for a moment on the arc reactor in Toni's chest. "Like that for instance. Let me have it analyzed by our engineers and draw up some specs."

Toni glowered at him. "No way in Hell! No way, no how, is staying with me, you know very damned well I can't live without this thing." Stane though, refused to back off "It'll give me a bone to throw the boys in New York."

"Forget it Obie. It stays with me." and with left to go downstairs but Obadiah Stane couldn't leave it at that

"You mind if I come down there and see what you're doing?" Toni left Obadiah behind without so much as a backwards glance, "Good night, Obie."

When at last she cleared the last step and tapped in her code to be let back into her workshop. When she saw the box sitting one the worktable she realized she had forgotten all about the gift Pepper had left for her. She smiled, grateful to have her mood lifted after the incident that happened just upstairs. Even though she had meant to go straight back to work just now, the presence of the box called out to her wanting her to open it.

When she decided she couldn't wait any longer she went over to the particular table where the package rested and undid the string and lifted up the box. And there it was, her first arc reactor. Pepper, it seemed to her now, had ordered a Lucite display made for the decide that'd saved her life in Afghanistan. She looked at it in wonder as she read the inscription that encircled the device. "Proof That Antonia Evelyn Stark has A Heart" and then underneath it also read "Mark 1"

Toni smiled at the device as if were Pepper himself. Only he would do something like this to make his point known.


End file.
